Rakuma, a marketplace app owned by Japan-based ecommerce bellwether Rakuten, will begin full-scale cross-border sales of secondhand fashion items on EBay USA this month following nine months of a pilot run.
Rakuten Rakuma (at Fril.jp — Rakuten acquired Fril’s owner Fablic Inc. in 2016, but retained the former’s domain name) piloted EBay link-up in May last year with seven official shops and since more than 30 local merchants expanded outreach of their products to the U.S. market, according to a company’s announcement.
The products listed under Rakuma overseas omakase — meaning ‘leaving it up to you’ — plan are covered under EBay authenticity guarantee that signifies free appraisals for brand-name products. Initially, the appraisal is available for handbags, but it will expand to other categories.
“We are thrilled to officially launch cross-border sales with eBay, bringing the quality of used-in-Japan fashion items to shoppers in the United States,” said Kenichiro Hasegawa, general manager at Rakuten Rakuma.
“The growth and positive feedback during the trial phase underscore the global appeal of Rakuma’s selection of pre-loved fashion. This marks an exciting step towards our aim of expanding business opportunities for Rakuma Official Shops, and we look forward to further growing this initiative for US shoppers and Rakuma Official Shop owners in the future.”
Rakuma is already working with purchasing agent service AnyBuy to sell Japanese used goods abroad. Its competitor Mercari enables direct purchases for Taiwanese buyers. LY Corp. also aims at fueling its cross-border sales through acquisition strategy.
